


Love Me Two Times

by MrMysterious2



Category: Pacific Rim
Genre: F/M, M/M, Other, Polyamory, clockmaker Hermann, horticultural scientist Newton, huzzah for healthy polyamory!, model Vanessa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-05
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-02-28 06:12:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2721695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrMysterious2/pseuds/MrMysterious2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermann Gottlieb is a happy man.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Dream Is Realised

Hermann Gottlieb was a happy man.  
You would not think it to look at him, however, with his stern jaw and preference for ‘old man’ sweaters – the cane and the limp certainly did not help his image either. But despite this, Hermann Gottlieb was a happy man.

His happiness began in the Winter of his 24th year. Having just completed his engineering degree he, like so many of his fellow graduates, was now on the hunt for not just a job, but a career. Unfortunately, he found himself being rejected time and again. Feeling dejected but by no means defeated Hermann continued with his part-time job at the bookstore across from his apartment building, sending out his resume to every place he could think of and some that he could not.

This continued on for two and a half months. Every week Hermann would send out his resume and every week he would be ‘regretfully’ shot down. He was beginning to feel as though he would be stuck stocking book shelves forever. The constant rejection began taking its toll on the eager engineer. 

As the weeks wore on Hermann became ever wearier. He started collecting his mail later and later each day, dreading every letter that lay in wait for him. He came to hate his letter opener – one of his most treasured items, gifted to him by his grandfather as he lay on his deathbed. He stopped going into work every day. He ate less. In the blink of an eye Hermann had found himself caught in the clutches of depression. 

He had never been one to have many friends, if any at all, and his parents were far too old fashioned to be understanding of his plight. For the first time in his life, Hermann cursed his solitary nature. What had always served as helpful had turned into a hindrance of the most harmful kind – with no one to turn to, Hermann fell ever deeper. Until one day, his clock broke.

This was no run-of-the-mill clock, mind; this was an antique German grandfather clock, gifted to Hermann by his father on his 18th birthday. To any other adolescent this may have been a strange and useless present. But to Hermann, who had been fascinated by the workings of clocks since he was a boy, it was the greatest gift he had ever received. So when it stopped working on that miserable Winter’s day he panicked ever-so-slightly. He called in sick at the bookstore, stripped off his coat and dashed about in search of his toolbox. 

What had started off as a simple repair job soon turned into a careful disassembling. He had forgotten how much he loved clocks; their intricate internal workings, their unique exteriors. He spent the rest of the day re-assembling his clock with such love that by the end he was almost sad to put the back on and once again hide its workings from view.

A thought struck him that night, as he watched his once-again functional clock, a glass of red wine in his hand: perhaps he could pursue a career in clock making and repairs. The more he thought about it the more he came to like the idea, until he was absolutely convinced that there was no alternative. He could work from his apartment, keep his part-time job until his business became successful enough to stand on its own. He would put up fliers, take out newspaper advertisements, put up a sign on his apartment building – he would make this work.

It took almost two years, but with sheer will-power and a head for business Hermann’s dream became a successful reality. Gottlieb’s Cogwork and Gadgetry was up and running and Hermann was certain he had never been happier in his life. Although he could never claim to be drowning in work he maintained a steady stream of customers, enough so that he could finally quit his day job at the bookstore. Finally life was going his way. And it was only going to get better.


	2. Isn't She Lovely?

It had been a quiet day for Hermann; no customers had come in so he had spent his working hours tinkering away. Cups of tea littered his work space and a half-finished sandwich sat patiently on the window sill. He peered at his watch – 5.37 PM. Just about time for him to set down his tools for the night.  
He was just putting the finishing touches on a small Seth Thomas mantel clock when the buzzer for his apartment went off. He checked his watch once more – 5.53 PM. Someone was cutting it very fine. Wiping his hands on his vest he stood to answer the buzzer.

“Gottlieb’s Cogwork and Gadgetry, Hermann Gottlieb speaking.”

“Hello Hermann, I’m here to have my watch fixed.” The sultry voice on the other end of the buzzer had Hermann fantasising about barely-clad genie girls dancing around an oasis. He quickly pulled himself together, pressing the buzzer once more.

“Do come up.”

The lady that walked through his door was nothing short of spectacular; with her hair curling about her face in every direction and her rich, dark complexion catching the light with every turn of her magnificent head, Hermann found himself instantly infatuated. She smiled graciously at him, and his heart skipped far too many beats to be healthy.

“How do you do? I appreciate you letting me up, I know I’m pushing it with your opening hours, but I promise to make this quick.”

Hermann secretly wished to never let the appointment end, but said instead:

“That’s quite alright, what may I do for you today?”

“This,” she held out a beautiful octagonal pocket watch for Hermann to take “was my grandfather’s. He recently passed away and left it to me, but it hasn’t been in working condition for quite some years now. I would like to have it restored, as it meant an awful lot to him.”

Hermann inspected the watch closer; it was a truly unique time piece, not only in shape but design. It had a small octagonal smoky quartz face and decoratively engraved octagonal casing. He could only imagine what the inner workings would look like. He looked back at his client, who stood patiently awaiting his reply.

“I would be honoured to work with such a fine specimen.” He beamed. He was unsure whether he was referring to the watch, or his client.

“Thank you so much.” She said. “I’ve looked around a fair bit for the right place and I’ve heard that you’re the best. I trust you won’t disappoint.” She smiled back at him, and set his heart racing.

“Now then,” he cleared his throat and turned to enter his work space, hoping that she could not see the colour rising in his face “I won’t be able to give you an exact price right away, but I can tell you that it will be quite costly. I’m not familiar with this particular make of pocket watch, so I’m not sure how much it will cost for replacement parts, but if you like I can keep you updated so that the total doesn’t come as a complete shock to you once it’s completed.”

“I would like that, yes.”

“Excellent, if you could please write down your email address here then.. Lovely, thank you. Again, taking into account what parts I may need to get may have an impact on how long it will take me to complete the restoration. I will include where I am sourcing the parts from in my updates. Best case scenario I would say it could be done within the month, otherwise it could take up to two, perhaps even three. Have you any questions?”

“None whatsoever.” She smiled again, a gentle, trusting smile. Hermann gulped.

“Well then, if that’s all..”

“Of course. The door is this way, yes?”

“Yes, I’ll show you out.”

They crossed the apartment in silence, and Hermann opened the door for his client.

“Thank you again.” She said, dipping her head and turning to leave.

“I –I never got your name.” Hermann stammered.

“Oh of course! How rude of me.” She held out a perfectly manicured hand. “I’m Vanessa.”

Hermann took her hand in his own, self-conscious of how calloused his palms were. He wondered if he was scratching her.

“A pleasure, Vanessa. You know me already as Hermann, of course.”

She lowered her eyelashes and sent him a grin unlike the others – sensual and predatory.

“That I do.” She murmured, and let go. “I’ll be in touch, Hermann.” She threw over her shoulder as he watched her retreating back, dumbfounded.

Once again alone in his flat, he waited until he was sure that she was out of the building before running himself a shower. While he stood under the hot water he thought of her. How her hair had bounced so carelessly around her shoulders, how her hips swayed as she had walked away. The memory of her fingers trailing along a counter top turned into her fingers through his hair, across his chest and back..

Hermann grasped his pulsing cock with desperation. As he pumped he remembered every detail he could about her, turning everything into a fantasy. Those plump lips covering him in burning hot kisses, her perfect teeth marking his collarbones, his shoulders, his neck. Her impossibly long legs, covered though they were by jeans, would surely be the smoothest, most divine legs Hermann had ever laid eyes on, and in his mind they were already tangled around his, resting on his shoulders, sprawled across the floor with him worshipping every inch of her perfect body.

His whole body shuddered as he came, one hand bracing himself against the wall. As always, he immediately felt guilty, ashamed that he had used the image of his newest client for his own pleasure. He scrubbed himself thoroughly and turned off the water.

As he sat down to a simple dinner of roast chicken and vegetables he attempted to forget the images he had conjured in his depraved state. She was after all a client, and he prided himself on his professionalism. When he had finished his meal he cleaned up and went over to where he had sat the watch on his work bench.

It truly was a beautiful watch. He speculated for a moment on how Vanessa’s grandfather could have come to own such a thing. He was tempted to open it up there and then and have a look around, but it was getting late and his eyes were beginning to get heavy so he decided against it. With a great deal of reluctance he set it down again and trudged off to bed.

The next day he was up bright and early, eager to get stuck into his new job. So eager, in fact, that he forgot to make himself breakfast.

Mid-morning found him hunched over his magnifying glass, stomach protesting loudly at the mistreatment. He finally gave in, and went to make himself a sandwich and a cup of tea. As he ate he composed an email to Vanessa detailing the parts that he would need to replace, their cost and estimated time of arrival, as promised.

He re-read it several times before sending, making changes every time until he was finally satisfied with what he had written. His finger hovered tentatively over the send button.

“Oh, just send it you coward!” He grumbled, pressing the button at last. He shut his laptop immediately after it had sent, and refused to return to it for the remainder of the day.

He opened his laptop again only when his working day had come to an end. Opening his email, he saw that he had one new message from Vanessa.

She thanked him for keeping her updated, as promised, and asked him if she could come in when the parts arrived to see them. He replied that yes, of course she was more than welcome to come and inspect the parts – it was a very special order, after all, and Hermann wanted to do nothing but his very best for Vanessa and her grandfather’s pocket watch. He bid her a good night and once again shut his laptop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anybody was wondering, here is a link to the pocket watch that Vanessa brought in:  
> http://www.antique-watch.com/product-35-w10333.html

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically just a short introduction to the story, get the base-line of Hermann's character down so the rest can build as I go.  
> Title is inspired by The Doors' song 'Love Me Two Times'. Chapter title is just something I conjured.


End file.
